Can I rent my house out to my girlfriend then move in with her?

[Jack B.]

I'm hoping to capture some depreciation by doing so. Plus I look forward to 1031 exchanging it without having to wait to move out again and turning it back to a rental for a year before being able to do so. 

As it stands now I planned on living here for 1.3 more years, then renting it back out for a  year so I could do a 1031 exchange.  

But if I'm able to rent it to my gf and move in with her, it would technically be a rental now, saving me the hassle of having to wait an extra year after I move out to show rental history to legally be able to do a 1031. The reason for the urgency of doing the 1031 sooner rather than later is to avoid more capex. I had to replace the roof this year for about 13K. The furnace is coming up soon, a water heater and the galvanized plumbing. I held too long in the past and got hit with major capex. I'm looking to avoid that now without having to buy another house to move into right now (in this market).